Thermal management of electronic devices on printed circuit boards/printed wiring boards is usually accomplished in one or more of three ways: (1) by providing enhanced conduction paths to heat transfer surfaces which are at lower temperatures than the device; (2) by increasing convection (natural or forced) from the surface of the device to a lower temperature surrounding ambient fluid, usually air; or (3) radiation. All three ways provide for the dissipation of heat generated in the electronic devices. Heat dissipation is usually carried out by providing a heat sink assembly comprising individual heat sinks for the various devices. The design and fabrication of the heat sink assembly is therefore dependent upon the size and geometry of the devices. Resultingly, there are often numerous individual parts that make up a heat sink assembly, and many of those numerous parts require individual installation. Moreover, such installation often requires soldering of parts together. Soldering is often done by hand and, therefore, the labor required to produce the heat sink assembly is formidable. In addition to the foregoing, the designs that require significant soldering of individual components also increase the difficulty of and increase required time for repair activity.
Thus, what is needed is a more efficient apparatus for thermal management of electronic devices mounted on circuit boards.